Redstate

Posted at 1:29pm on Jun. 23, 2008 'Zounds! The National Press Club discovers that the Netroots wants to be the deciders of acceptable speech.

The apostrophe is there because the word is actually short for the oath "God's wounds." This has no relevance to the post, but I thought that you might find it interesting.

By Moe Lane

Silvia Smith of the National Press Club is - wait for it! - gobsmacked:

Is 1st Amendment on life support?
Commentary by Sylvia A. Smith
Washington editor

WASHINGTON – After a week of relentless e-mails and phone calls from people who were outraged at the prospect of a guy scheduling a press conference to make allegations about Barack Obama, I’m not sure extreme CPR could resuscitate the idea of free speech in some Americans’ minds.

The message they sent was that the guy is a crackpot and a felon and therefore should be prevented from speaking.

(Via Ben Smith)

I suspect that Ms. Smith doesn't really read the blogosphere much, because she's apparently legitimately astounded at the way things went down. Or, possibly, she's just never been actually aimed at by our esteemed opposite numbers before.

Read on.

Posted in Barack Obama | Liberals | Netroots — Comments (10)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 11:30am on Jun. 9, 2008 Oh, sure, *now* the Netroots care about anti-Semitism in Tennessee.

It only took them, what, four months?

By Moe Lane

Paul Rosenberg (Obama supporter) is mad, mad, MAD! about the way that EMILY's List (Clinton supporters) candidate and Harold Ford (Clinton supporter) protege Nikki Tinker is using a virulently anti-Semitic flyer against incumbent Congressman Steve Cohen (Obama super-delegate).

As the parentheses might tell you, I'm not really buying his ostensible motivations for writing this piece. Then again, I had already given the "typical Republican" response to this sort of thing - appalled disgust - back in February (see also Ed Morrissey). This is in sharp contrast to Open Left, a site that pretty much ignored the problem at the time (search terms were "steve cohen" and "steven cohen," and only got involved in recently (note hit piece against EMILY's List here). But hey, at least they care now, right?

Even if it's only because of their highly entertaining internal grudge match.

Moe Lane

Posted in 2008 | Barack Obama | EMILY's List | Fairly Typical Behavior | Netroots | Steve Cohen | Tennessee — Comments (1)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 11:37am on May 7, 2008 I think that I need to have the Netroots clarify something for me.

Not to interrupt their paeans of joy over the Obama win, of course.

By Moe Lane

I'll wait.

(pause)

All right?

OK, explain something to me. Obama's the inevitable nominee, yes, yes, the GOP is doomed, yadda, yadda, the Democrats are going to take the White House, consolidate Congress, cut and run from Iraq, start war crimes trials against the Bush administration, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Oh, yes, by now we over here on the Right can sing along; you folks haven't been shy about blaring these - and one other - discordant tunes in our weary, weary ears. 2007 might have been a lowered-expectations disaster for your crowd, but with the new wave of Red-to-Blue (or whatever you're calling it) we should be on the brink of the Glorious People's Progressive Future. Why, we're even hearing about how Nancy Pelosi is going to stand up to the administration with the new war supplemental bill (H/t: Hot Air). All in all: this is supposed to be your time.

So why are you letting the Democratic leadership set you up?

Democrats Unveil War Supplemental Plans

House Democratic leaders outlined a war supplemental spending plan to their rank and file Tuesday that will give members a chance to vote separately on Iraq policy riders and various spending add-ons.

The bill, to be brought directly to the floor later this week, would set a Dec. 31, 2009, goal for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. It also would ban permanent U.S. bases in Iraq, limit interrogation techniques to those included in the current Army field manual, bar a status of forces agreement that would obligate the U.S. to defend Iraq without congressional approval, and require Iraq to match U.S. reconstruction funding dollar for dollar. And it would call for U.S. forces to pay the same fuel prices in Iraq as the Iraqis.

The bill will be divided into three sections — for war money, policy riders and domestic spending. That will permit House Democrats to vote for or against each section while still getting the measure through that chamber.

Read on.

Posted in Congress | GWOT | Liberals | Nancy Pelosi | Netroots — Comments (12)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 9:30am on Feb. 18, 2008 The Online Left vs. Obama: They've Been In Hillary's Pocket All Along.

By Erick

By and large, the online left hates Obama. It's one of the underreported ironies of this political season. Obama has more in common with the netroots than Hillary. He's to the left of her on the war, on corporate issues, on social welfare issues – even on life issues Obama appears to the left of Hillary. But the online left does not like him.

There are a few reasons for this. For one, Obama is no Ned Lamont. He's a dazzling, rising star of the left, but unlike Lamont, Obama is not a product of the online left. He has, in fact, done it on his own. Obama has had a brilliant online operation. His online fundraising was Dean'esque without Joe Trippi's involvement. His website and Web 2.0 strategy has been dazzling without Jerome Armstrong's involvement. His ability to get people fired up and directed in a particular direction has been stellar without Kos's involvement. In fact, Obama's relations with bloggers have been frosty and he hasn't spent much time stroking their egos.

Obama is, by and large, a testament that the online movement remains ancillary to the cause.

There is another reason too, and one we should pay attention to.

Read on . . .

Posted in 2008 | 2008 Presidential Campaign | Barack Obama | Hillary Clinton | Netroots — Comments (36)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 1:53pm on Nov. 13, 2007 Babies, Bombs, And Boston Harbor: How NOT To Support A Candidate

By haystack

Promoted from Diaries by Thomas, because, first, we're all about candidates who get the NRLC endorsement, and, second, it's nice to see candidates taking advantage of online fundraising opportunities that aren't just PayPal links.

For all intents and purposes, the Texas Congressman running for President has shown strong support from grassroots activists, especially in the web o'sphere. They deserve credit for their enthusiasm and creativity-and their ability to squeeze green from a black stone. There are lessons in there for those seeking new and ever-creative ways to advance a candidate...from a logistics perspective at least.

There's a big difference, however, between psyching up the minions and getting them pumped about helping a campaign versus rustling up a few Democrat talking points and insisting people MUST fork over cash: It's for the Children!!

There's the Romney supporters, leveraging Pearl Harbor imagery as the backdrop for their own fund drive in the name of his promises to support vets, and perhaps my personal favorite, Tancredo's suggestion that we need to give him money before a terrorist blows up a shopping mall...that one might be a bit over the top but what do I know?

More below the fold...

Posted in 2008 | Donation Drives | Grassroots Activism | Netroots — Comments (22) / Email this page » / Read More »